Listen to Your Heart
by Brennanite47
Summary: Brennan and Booth are trapped in the Jeffersonian late at night for a power failure. What they don't know is that Angela, Hodgins, and Cam are all watching them. I thank you all for making this story hit the 400 review mark. I 3 you. :
1. Prologue

_**Well, here I am again. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this yet, but I had this thought this morning when was digging through my music library. I thought: "What if we lock Brennan and Booth in close proximity to each other and add music all the while their friends are watching them"...ok, I didn't think it JUST like that. That's the more fleshed out version I mulled over my Cheerios. **_

**_This is gonna be kinda song-fic-y and kinda not. The only way to find out what I mean by that is to stick around. I'd say this takes place around early season four._****_ Anyway, here we go..._**

_**Prologue:**_

"How much longer, Angela?" Cam asked as she pulled her feet up underneath her.

"A couple more minutes at the minimum. It's not everyday that we do something this under-handed and sneaky." Angela replied.

"Yeah, but so worth it, don't you think?" Hodgins returned to his living room and sat down next to Cam with a giant bucket of popcorn on his lap.

"I think they'll thank us in the long run…if we ever tell them." she said as she continued to tap at her keyboard, focused as hard as possible on the task at hand.

"If you don't mind, I don't want my name to be in the news headlines reading "Pathologist mysteriously disappears without trace." Cam announced.

"Don't worry, Angela would have to take credit for this little nugget. It was her idea." Hodgins stated.

"Yeah, and who thought that my idea was so spectacular, we had to have a sleep over to celebrate it?" she replied mundanely.

"Hey, did you really think that we were gonna miss this?" Hodgins fired back.

"Well, you don't have to wait any longer…I'm in." Angela said with a smirk that said _tonight is gonna be fun._

* * *

Brennan looked at her wristwatch. It was already nine o'clock and she didn't have half of what she wanted done. She had reports to write and emails to respond to when all she wanted to do was go home and crash.

"_If I don't do this now, it'll just be here to do tomorrow"_ she reminded herself, scrubbed her eyes, and refocused on her work.

She heard the brisk swish of the sliding doors open. Brennan surmised that it was just someone coming in to pick up something they'd forgotten when they left. She was sitting with her back to the door, feeling a pair of eyes watching her intently. She swished around to see a grinning Booth looking back at her from her office door.

"What are you doing here, Booth?" Brennan asked as she swiveled back around and went back to her paperwork, signing off on some remains they'd identified earlier that day.

"I think an even better question is what are _you_ doing here?" he replied, charm smile that had Brennan's heart radiating down to her kneecaps. Not that she'd ever admit that.

Brennan no longer denied the attraction she'd felt towards Booth. She denied it to everyone around her, yes, but she knew inside that there was something buried deep that went beyond friendship and partnership. For some odd reason, it was the last thing she thought about before she would finally fall asleep at night. It was the first time Brennan couldn't explain something as rationally as she wanted to. It was a mystery that needed solving.

"I have to finish up these reports and sign off on them, then I have a inbox full of emails to respond to." she said easily.

"Well, nothing wrong with a little company, is there?" Booth plopped down onto her couch, his grin never faltering. He knew better than to fight with Brennan when she was 'in the zone'. He decided baby-sitting her and making sure that she didn't work her fingers down to nubs.

Brennan looked up, apparently contemplating his words. "No, I guess it isn't." she replied.

* * *

Angela tapped a few more keys while Hodgins upper body was obscured by his gigantic television set, rigging wires so they had a good view of the show. Cam sat uselessly on the couch, happily munching on popcorn and watching her two employees set up.

"Alright, I'm tapped into the security feed." Angela announced as a picture became clear on the computer screen. She hit another key and switched cameras, ignoring the occasional 'ow' or curse word that emanated from behind the T.V. When Hodgins finally found the right outlets, the video feed from the lab was enlarged on the screen.

"Nice, but how about we get the ball in motion?" Cam asked.

"No problem." Angela said and gave a quick punch to the 'enter' key. They watched as the lab went black, then switch over to back-up power.

* * *

"What was that?" Booth's startled voice asked. All the lights in the lab suddenly went out all together for two seconds before the back-up generator kicked on.

Brennan hardly looked up. "Power outage." she said simply. "The back-up doesn't work anymore since we offended the maintenance people. Looks like were stuck." Brennan found it hard to care that the doors were locked when she had too much other work to worry about.

"How did you offend the maintance guys?" Booth asked. He knew she could go blathering about and not know when she said something insensitive, but why would people hold a grudge?

"I didn't do it. They got mad at us some months back when Hodgins and Zack used the main generator to test how much electrical current it would take to make certain markings on a set of remains." she flipped through the pages of the files.

"I know I'm gonna regret this, but what did they do that got them in trouble?" Booth inquired.

"They put on rubber gloves, connected two wired to the opposite poles of the generators when they were turned off, and _phrmphemfle._" she mumbled.

"What was that last part?" Booth asked.

"They blew out the Geology Unit's generator. Ever since then maintance doesn't get along with us." Brennan sighed as Booth chuckled, wishing he could see Hodgins and Zack wreak havoc among the rock squints.

***

"I remember that...that was a very good day." Hodgins laughed at the memories of the disaster he was behind.

"Shh!" Angela hushed him.

***

"Oh, happy day, trapped in the Squint's House of Mumbo-Jumbo all night." he muttered as he laid down onto the couch. _"At least I'm trapped with my favorite squint,"_ he thought to himself.

"I'm don't know what 'mumbo-jumbo' means." Brennan said while reading through another report.

"Didn't think you would, Bones." Booth kicked off his shoes and shucked off his coat. He had a feeling he was in for a long night.

**_I'm gonna break into the music come next chapter. I've thought up some great songs and I figured out how to incorporate them into this. Please let me know what you think so far._**


	2. Hot Blooded

_**Lurve all of you who put this on story alert and reviewed. I opened my email this morning and there were, like, sixty emails. I really appreciate all of it!! :)**_

**_Now, I didn't really wanna lead off with this song, but I really didn't think that it was fair to Booth and Brennan in season one that they didn't get to finish their dance. And, I needed an ice-breaker so the next chapter's song isn't so weird. _**

**_Per usual, I don't own anything. (If I owned Bones, Booth and Brennan would've been together a LONG time ago and Zack would still be here. *sigh* Does anyone else miss Zack as much as I do?)_**

_**Chapter One:**_

Brennan shocked herself. In a mere ninety minutes, with Booth right there bugging her, she'd managed to complete all of the paperwork she'd set out to achieve. What she thought would've taken all night was all set in neat stacks, waiting to go to the appropriate mail boxes when the doors allowed them to.

It seemed it was her turn to lay sprawled out on the couch with her own shoes off now. Booth sat at her desk, most likely messing it all up. He was digging through drawers, but she didn't feel like telling him to knock it off. She decided to let him have his perverted fun.

"Hey!" Booth apparently found something of interest.

"What?" Brennan asked with her arm over her eyes.

"Bones' mp3 player." he pulled out the slim black device. "It has a little skull sticker on it."

Brennan sat up right when she heard that last part. She wondered how he found it when it was buried on the bottom of the drawer like she kept it. Already knowing he'd turned it on, Brennan rose to her feet.

"Booth, I really don't think there's anything on there you'd be interested in."

* * *

Angela had doubled over laughing, leaving Cam and Hodgins to shoot questioning glances at each other. "What is it?" he asked.

She pulled herself together, then answered with a question, "What kinda music do you think Brennan listens to?"

"I pegged her as a classical and jazz type." Cam said.

"Well, I've heard her listening to rap before." Hodgins added.

Angela laughed, "Just watch." she emphasized.

* * *

"What are you talking about Bones? This is interesting just to see what you listen to." Booth ran over to the battery powered ihome that seemed to catch his eye on the bookshelf before she could catch up to strangle him. He docked it and skimmed through the songs, looking for one he remembered particularly that she liked.

"Booth, I swear, one of these days…" Brennan trailed off. _'Chinese water torture, electrocution, suffocation, nerve damage…I think electrocution will do just fine,' _she listed the ways she could torture her partner to a quick and simple death. Brennan knew she wouldn't have the metaphorical 'guts' to go through with it, but the fantasy was still appealing sometimes.

Apparently finding what he was looking for, Booth hit the play button and turned up the volume. Bass guitar filled the room and Brennan blew out a sigh,

_Well I'm hot blooded_

_Check it and see,_

_I got a fever of a hundred and three_

_Well, come on baby, do you do more than dance?_

_I'm hot blooded, I'm hot blooded_

Brennan was getting an odd sense of déjà vu as Booth danced around her office like a drunken guitar player. She remembered the last night they'd danced to this song was just before he was blown up by her bomb-rigged refrigerator. They never did get to finish the song.

'_Well,…I guess now's as good a time as any to finish it.'_ she picked up on the rhythm and joined him similar to the last time.

* * *

"Holy crap! How did she NOT kick him?" Hodgins watched the pair in amazement.

"Maybe she meant to." Angela thought as she smiled.

Cam was long gone. She rolled on the couch, giggling like a school-child and barely able to string together a sentence. When she finally composed herself, she asked, "Is that what you meant when you said 'just watch'?"

"No, actually that's not what I had in mind." Angela chuckled evilly. She knew Brennan like the back of her hand. She also knew her friend's playlist pretty well. Unless Brennan deleted everything on that mp3 player and put on new stuff, Hodgins and Cam were in for more surprises than just Foreigner.

**_Encouragment is always welcomed here. I really need the reviews to generate the ideas. Please click the green button? If you do, I'll make next chapter really fluffy. It's my specialty._**


	3. Sharp Dressed Man

_**Alright, if there's ANYONE out there at all like me, you have to put in ZZ Top somewhere...and I thought it'd be a good little conversation piece between Brennan and Booth. I absolutely capital L-U-R-V-E all of you who are reviewing! That really puts a spring in my step for the entire day knowing that people like my random rants and ravings. **_

_**Chapter Two:**_

The all too familiar song ended. Brennan couldn't stop laughing at her partner imitating a drum player. He'd taken off his tie, wrapped it around his head and knotted it in the back. Booth looked like a maniac on crack, which only made her laugh harder. He finally slumped down to the floor and breathed exhaustedly.

"Is that how you pick up dates?" Brennan asked. Not that it was any of her business, but it'd be funny to see Booth dance like that in a club.

"Of course not! I'm a gentleman. If I wanna date, then I dance to Motley Crue." he stated.

"Oh, I could see that working. _'Got a cozy little job that sells the Mexican mob packages of candy cane?'"_ she inquired.

"Hey, you'd be surprised." he defended himself.

"I'm sure I would be, Booth." she flopped down next to him.

Booth was amazed. Here, sitting next to him, was a woman who knew the words to a Motley Crue song, but she didn't know who Kelly Clarkson was. He had to chuckle and wonder what else she knew, and what she didn't know. She was so cute when she didn't understand something. Booth wished he could tell her that without it sounding creepy. He got up and walked over to the bookshelf. "Let's see what else you got on this thing."

"Booth, I seriously don't think there's anything on that machine that you'd find appealing." she resounded her earlier statement.

"You had Foreigner, Bones. I liked that." he argued with a smile.

She gave up the argument and watched him scroll through what she considered was good music. He leafed over 'Cat Power' and 'Massive Attack', not really liking either. All of a sudden, Booth's grin grew about three sizes larger than what would be considered appropriate.

"What did you find?" Brennan asked reluctantly.

"Angela's dad." he chuckled.

* * *

"Are you kidding me? I asked her to delete that five times!" Angela shouted a little louder than necessary. "Not that I don't love my father, I do, but I hear those songs _so _much."

"Well, Angie, it looks like you're gonna have to sit through one of them again." Hodgins teased his girlfriend.

"Shh!" Cam took her turn at telling people to shut up.

* * *

Booth head-bobbed like a chicken as Brennan took in the familiar lyrics.

_Clean shirt, new shoes,_

_And I don't where I am goin' to_

_Silk suit, black tie,_

_I don't need a reason why_

_They come runnin' just as fast they can_

_Cause every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man._

"Is that true?" Booth asked randomly while staring at the ceiling.

"Is what true?" she said.

"Do women like it better when we're in suits and ties rather than jeans and a t-shirt?" he elaborated.

* * *

"Hmm…Brennan answering a question about female preferences in men? I don't wanna put a lot of money on that." Angela returned to the room after filling up the popcorn bowl.

Hodgins and Cam nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Anthropologically speaking, the males who present themselves in the more attractive ways rather than casual will be most likely to attract a prettier mate than if they didn't take the extra steps." Brennan answered, "Which makes no sense to me."

This had Booth snapping up to attention at the thought of seeing some insight into his partner's large brain. "How so?"

"All I'm saying is that it shouldn't matter in societies if the male is most handsome or the female is the most beautiful; emotional attraction can't grow on looks alone." she shrugged her shoulders.

"Wow…" Booth said, shaking his head.

"What?" Brennan smirked slightly.

"I actually understood that…and I agree with it." Booth slid the tie off of his forehead and threw it at her, landing squarely on her face. "I've been spending too much time with squints." he added.

Brennan plucked the tie out of her eyes. "Your hell must be freezing down."

"Over, Bones. Hell freezing over." he said.

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes.

_Lookin' sharp, lookin' for love_

_They come runnin' just as fast as they can_

_Cause every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man._

* * *

"ARGH…DAMN IT, WOMAN!" Angela yelled at the T.V. screen.

"What did you think was gonna happen, Angela? We stick them together alone and things just magically happen?" Cam was entertained at the artist's reaction.

"Oh…would you like to have a little wager, then?" she returned.

"What were you thinking?"

"A hundred bucks says that she WILL tell him by 2:30 a.m." Angela issued the challenge.

Cam, however, was taken aback. Sure, she'd gambled before, but this was a pure shot-in-the-dark scenario. Hodgins just looked amused as he watched the interaction with his lover and his superior.

Under any other circumstance, she would've turned the bet down, but Cam was feeling daring tonight. "I say a hundred bucks says he tells HER by 2 a.m."

Angela only smiled and offered out her hand, "You got a deal, sister."

Hodgins rolled his eyes and took a swig off of his beer.

**_So how do you like the bet? I thought it'd be an interesting path to go down. Please, oh please, leave me your thoughts on this chapter by clicking that nice, green button down there that says 'Review this chapter/story"? Pretty please with sugar on top?!_**


	4. Round & Round

_**So, per some's requests, I'm gonna try for at least one chapter a day for posting. If I fail, I'm so so sorry. Margaritas for everyone who reviews!! P.S. This is probably fluffier and more out of character, but it sounded right in my head. Hope no one gets too mad at me.**_

_**Chapter Three:**_

_**11:00 p.m.**_

Brennan was glad that Booth had grown bored and decided to go out and fish around for something entertaining around the lab. She decided that the few minutes alone with the mounting thoughts that were building up inside her head.

Over the last half hour, she had experienced a tightening in her chest, fluttering feelings in her stomach, and blushing when he graced her with one of those charm smiles. Brennan had always kept the thoughts she had for Booth in check. Now, whether it be the close proximity or the solitude, she found it harder and harder not to say something possibly partnership damaging.

"Look at what I found." Booth came back with two expensive-looking shot glasses and two bottles: one vodka, the other whiskey.

Her eyebrows furrowed, "Where did you find those?"

"Hodgins mini-fridge." he replied

* * *

Cam and Angela gave Hodgins a look that all but screamed 'Seriously?'.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. Vodka's a preservative." he weakly defended his possession of the liquor.

"Cam? Isn't vodka used for the preservation of tissue?" Angela asked the pathologist with forced innocence.

"For improvising situations, yes it is. Hodgins, what bugs or slime need to be preserved with alcohol? And what's the whiskey for?" Cam asked with a hint of a smile lingering on her lips.

"Well…you know…alright, fine. It's an emergency bottle. For occasions that call for booze." he hunkered down and continued to sip his beer.

The women shook their heads and refocused on the screen.

* * *

'_Wonderful.'_ Brennan thought, _'let's just add alcohol to this bizarre situation'. _"That's alright, Booth. I don't think I want any."

"Aw, come on, Bones. You're my favorite drinking buddy and you know that. There's no one else I'd rather make a louse of myself with than you." he whined and charmed her.

Booth could put on a pretty pitiful show when he had to, but it just wasn't because he didn't want to drink alone. More often than not lately, he'd been seeking solace in his partner's presence. Late night expeditions to the diner were becoming more and more frequent with no real explanation. The only thing he could figure was that she was his closest friend.

Brennan couldn't say why (cause she didn't know), but the steely walls she built around herself just seemed to melt away. She rolled her eyes and took the bottle he offered.

"Atta girl." he said quietly as she poured herself a shot.

* * *

"Just figures that they take the expensive bottles." Hodgins mumbled to himself.

However quiet it was, it didn't miss Cam's ears. "Are they're more, cheaper bottles, Dr. Hodgins?"

He looked up at his superior, who wore a plastered-on smile and quirked her eyebrows up at him.

Hodgins turned around while saying, "Shuting up now."

* * *

Brennan threw her head back as she swallowed the deep, rich alcohol. Booth watched in slight amusement as her face contorted with the bitterness of the whiskey, then made a realization. "Hey, what happened to the music?"

"I don't set mine to repeat." she made the simple fact known. Brennan reached up to pull herself off the floor while sending Booth's jacket down with a clatter. "What's in your pocket?" she asked.

"Nothing." Booth said hurriedly and reached across to grab up his jacket.

Brennan was slightly faster and moved to the site of the sound. She reached into the appropriate pocket and pulled out a mp3 player similar to hers. "Nothing huh?" she asked with a sly smile.

"Same story as you, Bones. There's nothing on there you'd like." he used her previous excuse.

"And you still invaded anyway. It's only fair that I do the same to you." she turned it on.

Booth sighed and watched her scroll through his song selection. Brennan quickly came to a conclusion.

"You like things named after animals. _Ratt, Scorpions, Whitesnake," _Brennan read off.

"Hey, you like Foreigner, you'll like Ratt. Gimme." he held out his hand for her to give him the little piece of technology. She placed it in his hand willingly and he walked over to the shelf once again. Guitar filled the room for a few seconds until lyrics became clear.

_Out on the streets, that's where we'll meet_

_You make the night, I always cross the line_

_Tighten our bells, abuse ourselves_

_Get in our way, we'll put you on your shelf_

Booth turned back into the dancing weirdo once again, only this time pulling Brennan to her feet and spinning around in dizzying circles. When he let her go, she stumbled backwards and landed solidly on the floor, laughing.

* * *

"Ouch…that had to hurt." Cam sucked in a breath as she thought of the cold, concrete Jeffersonian floor.

"The alcohol'll cushion the blow." Angela reassured her.

* * *

"You alright?" Booth asked while not breaking his dancing pace.

"I think I'll stay down here for awhile." Brennan replied as she listened to the rest of the song.

_I knew right from the beginning _

_That you would end up winnin'_

_I knew right from the start_

_You'd put an arrow through my heart_

"_I think I knew that somewhere too" _Booth thought as he looked at his partner smile up at him from the floor.

* * *

"This is getting so sweet, it's sickening." Hodgins voiced his thoughts.

"I agree." Cam said.

What none of them were expecting was the loud, reverberating sound of the doorbell echoing through the vast halls of Hodgins house. All three of them jumped out of their skin and Hodgins jumped up to answer it.

He pressed his ear to the door. "Who's there?"

"It's Dr. Sweets." a voice on the other side replied. Hodgins looked through the small hole in the door to confirm that it was, in fact, the good psychologist.

"Why are you at my house in the middle of the night, Sweets?"

"Well, I have these insomniac spells and I was in the neighborhood…are you listening to Ratt?" he stepped around Hodgins and into the foyer. Sweets found Angela and Cam chuckling on the couch at the television.

"What are you guys wa…" Sweets froze mid-sentence when he saw his two favorite patients dancing to one of the songs of his childhood. "What is this?"

Cam clammed up, but Angela was more than willing to share the details of her genius plan.

"I cut the main power to the lab, leaving them with the secondary generator, so they're stuck in there, but they came up with the dancing all on they're own." Angela laughed.

"They have a bet going. Cam says Booth'll crack first, Angela's got money on Brennan." Hodgins explained.

"Crack…how?" Sweets asked.

"As in admitting their feelings for each other." Cam stopped Angela from ranting.

"If nobody minds, I can't miss this for the world." Sweets inadvertently asked if he could stay.

Angela shrugged, "Why not? Spread the love."

"Sweet!" the psychologist shucked off his coat. From the looks of it, everyone was in for a long night.

**_One of you, my loyal public, requested that I install Sweets in the story and I thought it was a good idea. How he comes in IS kinda flimsy, but I just needed him in there. Please, reviews mean more than you could ever know!!!_**


	5. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

_**Sorry this took so long to get up, but the document manager was not being very nice to me. Figures as soon as I promise an update a day. **_

_**Chapter Four:**_

_**11:05 p.m.**_

Booth finished out the songs last guitar solo on the apparently invisible and soundless guitar he had on him miraculously. Brennan poured herself another shot of whiskey and slammed it down the back of her throat. The warm liquid seemed to take off a chill that she couldn't quite shake. Already knowing that the heater wasn't working, she had to attribute the brisk air to that filled the lab.

He plunked down on the floor next to his partner. "So, whaddya wanna listen to next?"

Brennan laughed at the fact that Booth's words were already starting to slur. "Give it a break for a little while."

"Alright…hey, I've got an idea." he stated.

"Uh-oh." she replied.

"Drunken 'truth or dare'." Booth said with eyes alight.

* * *

"Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!" Angela cheered.

"Dr. Hodgins, not that it's any of my concern, but have you smelled Angela's breath lately?" Sweets asked like the twelve-year-old they all thought he was.

Hodgins, not really understanding, got up and kissed his girlfriend for a few seconds. He pulled back with wide eyes.

"Holy crap, Angie, what the heck? Talk about getting drunk on someone's breath."

"I haven't had more than two beers, thank you very much." she defended herself.

"What'd you have before that?" Hodgins asked.

"I ate the last of that jello you had in the fridge. You gotta tell me where you got that stuff, it was awesome." she giggled.

"Ange, there was a giant bowl of that and it was mostly vodka!" he informed her.

"Hodgins, remind me later to get you an A.A. card." Cam didn't deter her focus from the screen.

* * *

"Booth, why on Earth would you want to do that?"

"Because if you dare me to do something really embarrassing, then I won't remember it tomorrow." Booth took the bottle of vodka and drank directly from it.

"What makes you think I'd make you do something embarrassing." Brennan feigned innocence rather badly.

"Because you haven't paid me back for not telling you I was dead." Booth immediately regretted bringing up the subject when he saw the look flash over her eyes. It disappeared just as quickly as it came, but it didn't miss his eyes.

"You don't think that right hook I gave you at your funeral wasn't enough?" Brennan rethought the statement she gave. "There's a sentence I never thought I'd say."

"Yeah, but that was just anger. You never did really took revenge. Please, Bones? I'll let you ask first." he asked pathetically.

Not feeling in the mood to argue, Brennan succumbed to the inevitable. "Truth or dare?" she mumbled.

"Dare me, sister." he challenged.

She sunk her head slightly and tried to think up a relatively good dare for Booth. She hadn't played said game since eighth grade and a little out of practice. Brennan had a thought that would be sufficient to entertain her. She got up and replaced Booth's mp3 player on the dock with her own.

"Karaoke time for Booth." she laughed.

"Oh, good lord." Booth hung his head. "What do I gotta sing?"

"The whole song." she replied as she skimmed through her library, looking for something in particular. When she found it, a huge grin came over her face as she hit the play button. A look of complete shock washed over Booth's face at the realization.

"Please Bones, anything but that."

"This is your dare…unless…you're not _man_ enough to sing something like this." she teased.

That seemed to bring Booth out of his begging front and into the alpha-male she knew.

_I come home, in the morning light_

_My mother says, "When you gonna live your life right?" _

_Oh mamma, dear we're not the fortunate ones_

_And girls, they wanna have fun_

_Oh, girls just wanna have fun._

* * *

There wasn't a soul in Jack Hodgins dark living room that wasn't laughing their asses off. Cam actually fell off the couch in her hysteria. Sweets and Angela both had tears in their eyes and Hodgins was hyperventilating.

"Oh, Angela…this is…such good blackmail material!" Cam was hardly able to say.

"Could I happen to get a copy of this?" Sweets asked after composing himself.

"So they know that I went into the security mainframe and we know all about this? Hell no!" Angela said as definitively as she could manage in her alcohol-laden state.

"_Well, can't blame a guy for trying,"_ Sweets inner monologue told him.

* * *

_Some boys, take a beautiful girl_

_And hide her away from the rest of the world_

_I wanna be the one to walk in the sun_

_And girls, they wanna have fun…_

Brennan had been in a frenzy of laughter even before he'd started the song that she'd loved since her childhood. He was massacring it beyond repair, and she couldn't tell why it was so humorous, but she couldn't stop laughing for some reason. Oh, Brennan was going to have to give him hell about this if she remembered it come morning.

The song faded out, and Booth's eyes looked very vengeful as he turned the music off and sat directly in front of her. "Truth or dare?" he crowed.

Not wanting to go through what he just did, she opted for the safer choice. "Truth."

Booth sat there for a long, hard minute, sizing his partner up. There _was_ a lot that he didn't know about the acclaimed forensic anthropologist's personal life, but he didn't know when she'd pick truth again. He wanted to make it a good question.

"What is the stupidest, most un-inhibited, wildest thing you've ever done?" Booth said with a sly smile."Ugh…Booth…" Brennan took another swig of whiskey, oh-so-obviously not wanting to answer.

Come on, Bones. You made you're choice. Tell all." he pried.

"You're worse than Angela." she stated.

* * *

"Hey! I resent that! I AM as bad a gossiper as it gets." a half-in-the-bag Angela said.

The other three shushed her.

* * *

"All right." Brennan conceded.

Booth sat up and was at full attention as she got herself more comfortable.

"It was my junior year in college, and my dorm roommate wasn't really as…'task-oriented' as I was. So one weekend, she drug me out of studying for my finals on Monday to go to a frat party." she said.

"Frat boys with Bones." he joked.

Brennan sunk slightly, "I'm sorry, are you telling this story?"

"Sorry. Sorry, Bones." Booth held up his hands in surrender.

"Well, it's not like I wanted to go. Everyone in the university thought I was a complete freak show, anyway. So she abandoned me as soon as we got there, and I was gonna head back to the room, but one of the guys there stopped me from leaving. He was very decent compared to most of my classmates." she drew in a breath.

"Did you sleep with said guy?" Booth's voice hit a slightly lower octave. He hoped she didn't catch him being momentarily jealous.

"No, I didn't. We had a little too much to drink after awhile and…he suggested…we go down to this local tattoo parlor and get tattoos."

* * *

"WHAT?! How come I've never heard this _phremphorie._" Hodgins covered his Angela's mouth halfway through her little rant.

"Thanks Hodgins." Cam whispered.

"No prob."

* * *

"What did you get a tattoo of?" Booth didn't let on his disbelief of the story or his amusement at her misfortune. He remembered the mess he'd gotten himself into for laughing at 'Brainy Smurf'. It was safe to assume he didn't want to travel down that road again.

Brennan swallowed and continued, "Half a Ying-yang. I had the white half, he had the black. He took me back to the dorm after that and I passed out. The next day I saw him making out with the girl who made her tuition by exchanging sexual favors for money."

Everything was silent for a whole two minutes before Booth finally said, "Well, that sucks."

"Yes, in your manner of speaking, it did suck." she bit her bottom lip.

"Did you…I mean, do you…" he trailed off.

"Still have it? No. After I started making money, I got it removed. I still have the scar, though." Brennan watched his expression for a few seconds, "You wanna see it, don't you?"

"No, no…no…yeah, I do." he said.

She chuckled and hiked up her shirt, just enough for him to see the symbol that was forever engraved into the corner of her back.

"Wow…" Booth was slightly shocked at the evidence. Being the brave (and probably stupid) man he was, he traced the lines of the semi-circle with his finger.

Brennan's nerve-endings jumped under Booth's calloused fingers. It excited and infuriated her all at the same time. No man had _ever_ had her jumping under his touch; not even Sully. She'd always had her 'biological urges' in check. Now, with Booth, he had her stomach doing back-flips and her skin begging to be touched.

Grabbing the whiskey bottle, she took yet another large gulp of the dark liquid. _"Get a grip on yourself, Temperance!" _

* * *

"Wow, am I glad I stayed here." Sweets vocalized his earlier thoughts now.

"What? Why?" Cam asked. Angela was asleep on the couch now, having vodka finally win the battle. Hodgins held her and was also quiet, apparently nodding off too. She and the psychologist were wide awake and dying to see what one another saw.

"Well, Dr. Brennan sharing a personal, emotionally straining story like that is completely out of character for her. It's possible that she's trying to tap into the deeper attachment she has to Agent Booth, seeking solace in that trust that she has for him." Sweets reveled in the fact that finally _someone_ in the Jeffersonian actually asked his thoughts without requiring them. "And the fact she let him touch her."

"Why does that have any significance?" she asked.

"Well, Brennan has this phobia of actual physical contact with someone that she feels connectivity with. She tries to suppress the more intimate feelings she has towards Booth when she pushes him away. The fact that she's allowed him to touch her like that means that she's probably coming to terms with what she feels." Sweets surmised.

Cam acknowledged his observations, but internally worried. She hoped Angela was out for the night, because if Sweets' theories had any credence, she'd be owing the artist a nice chunk of change.

**_What are all of you thinking? Please let me know and once again I'm sorry for the slow update._**


	6. If You Wanna Be My Lover

_**Well, I got requests for more 'Truth or Dare', so I decided to continue it for a little while longer. I don't see me doing this for more than five chapters, 'cause then I'm probably gonna get bored and move along. Anyhoo, here we go.**_

_**Chapter Five:**_

_**11:15 p.m.**_

"Truth or dare?" Brennan reissued the age-old question that's been asked of teenage girls for decades.

"I better go with truth." Booth gave his response.

Brennan pondered her question for a moment, thinking up something interesting. "Say you were stranded on a desert island, and you were able to bring five things, what would they be and why?"

Booth sat up straighter, "Why don't I get six things?"

"Why don't you get four? Five just sounds about right." Brennan leaned into the minimal comfort her rugged floor offered her.

"Alright then. My St. Christopher Medal, First-Aid kit, flares, you…" Booth smiled.

"Why would you bring me to your deserted island?" she asked.

* * *

"That's an excellent question." Sweets whispered quietly.

"Why?" Angela asked. Having now slept off some of her alcohol, she seemed more or less alert.

Sweets gave her a strange look, "Why Booth would bring Dr. Brennan to a deserted island doesn't seem odd?"

"Oh, a desert_ed_ island. I thought she said a desert island. With like, ice-cream and stuff." she clarified.

"Poor Angela," Cam muttered after they quieted.

* * *

"Well, so I don't go insane and start talking to a volleyball or a banana I come across." he said with a small smirk.

"Oh," she said.

"And last, but not least, a helicopter to get off said deserted island." Booth spread his arms in a wide, sweeping gesture like the statement held great importance. Brennan merely rolled her eyes.

"You're turn. Truth or dare?" Booth asked.

"Dare me, sucker." she taunted him. She couldn't bring herself to admit the alcohol was starting to do the talking for her.

"Ooh." he rubbed his hands together evilly. Brennan could already see that she was going to regret her decision. Five seconds didn't go by before Booth leaned into her ear, whispering her dare into it.

* * *

"Hey, Shrinky, what's he saying?" Hodgins poked at Sweets.

"I'm a psychologist, not a mind reader.

"Will you two shut up for all of thirty seconds and we'll find out." Cam seemed to be the only sane one in the group tonight.

* * *

Brennan jumped up and went to Angela's office after she was given her dare. She went straight for the cupboard where her friend kept all of her Cds, looking for one in particular. When she found the all too familiar disc of the vile and horrid songs she'd so many times over the course of her friendship with Angela.

She returned to her own office, where Booth was moving furniture out of the way. He plopped down on the couch with a Cheshire Cat smile etched across his face. Brennan merely rolled her eyes and tossed the disc into the battery-operated stereo and hit play. All she wanted was to get this dare over with.

The music started as she sang.

_Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want_

_So tell me what you want, what you really, really want_

_I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want_

_So tell me what you want, what you really, really want_

It was Booth's turn to laugh hysterically at his partner while she sang and danced like a first time drunk schoolgirl. Being as graceful as she was, she stumbled over her own two feet a couple times, which was only more amusing.

_If you want my future, forget my past_

_If you wanna get with me, better make fast_

_Now don't go wasting my precious time_

_Get your act together and we could be just fine_

_* * *_

Angela sang along with her favorite song as a teenager in a very bad key. Hodgins tried futilely to quiet her down. Cam and Sweets looked at each other with a slight smirk on both their faces, then turned around to go back to the screen.

Nobody expected what came next.

* * *

Brennan had no idea what possessed her to do it. The only logical explanation was that she was partially under the influence of booze.

She walked around the couch and leaned into Booth's shoulder, _"If you wanna be my lover" _she whispered into his ear, almost seductively. After it happened, Brennan went out about her dared dance as if nothing had happened.

Booth couldn't have seen that coming if it were three feet in front of him. Even though his reflexes were numbed by the alcohol, there was a visible change in his demeanor after it happened. He wished he could've just pulled her to him and planted one on her.

Since he couldn't do that, he had to settle for ignoring it.

* * *

"Holy crap." Angela's jaw was slacked.

"You can say that again." Cam responded.

"Then I'm not crazy. You saw it too, then." she asked the other woman.

Cam looked at her with wide eyes and nodded in agreement. Hodgins was now the one to fall asleep with no comment or knowledge of what just happened.

Sweets decided to chime in, "Angela, I seriously don't know if I can keep this out of my therapy sessions with them. Could I please have a copy of this?" he asked with his best puppy-dog face.

"No! I broke rules to do this for fun, not to get my ass handed to me by Cam, then Cam's ass handed to her by Bancroft." she stated solidly.

Cam just came to that realization as Angela said it and reinforced it with a "Yeah."

"Wow, Brennan's more all over him than I thought." Angela said after a couple of minutes of silence.

"Booth, too. Did you see how his breath hitched? He is so gonna cave." Cam said.

"Yeah, right." Angela muttered under her breath.

**_Comments are always appreciated in my wonderful world of Bonesness. Lurve you all that click that button._**


	7. The Power Of Love

_**Well, school's started once again, which probably's going to mean slower updates until I get adjusted into sophomore life. I promise I'll get these up ASAP though. I swear I'll try.**_

_**Chapter Six:**_

_**11:25 p.m.**_

Brennan landed face first on the couch after her little dance. Booth, who was still seated at the end of the couch. Booth, who sat at the opposite end, had his partner's socked feet in his lap.

"White, Bones? Come on. Haven't I had any influence on you at all?" Booth asked incredulously.

Brennan mumbled something incoherently into the couch and let her hair out of the ponytail it had been in all night. The relief of pressure on her head helped a little with the fatigue now brought on by her dancing and singing fit.

"What was that?" he asked with a smile that had him deserving his 'cocky' belt buckle.

"I said, 'truth or dare?'" Brennan restated.

"Oh…,truth after that. Definitely." he said. Booth ran his finger ever so gently along the bottom of his partner's right foot.

She bolted up along with the feeling and withdrew her feet from Booth's touch.

He was shocked and amused at the new discovery. "Bones, are you ticklish?"

"No." Brennan responded too quickly to sound believable.

Booth began to advance on her like an animal stalking it's prey. "Booth, you so much as even try to think about it…" she protested and moved back.

He didn't care, it'd be worth it to see her ticklish. He tackled her down to the couch as his fingers moved nimbly at her sides. Brennan burst out into fits of giggles brought on both by Booth's fingers and the alcohol that nestled itself into her bloodstream.

* * *

"Alright, this is starting to get really weird." Cam said with a half yawn.

"Booth's exploiting a weakness that Dr. Brennan suffers by being sensitive of her sides." Sweets clarified the art of tickling to them.

"We kinda already understood that Sweets." Angela said from her comfortable resting place against Hodgins snoring chest.

* * *

Brennan ended up exacting her revenge upon her partner by bucking him off of the couch while she tried to regain some composure.

"Are you gonna give me my truth anytime soon?" Booth asked from the floor where he stretched out semi-awkwardly.

She hummed for a second in thought, "Booth, exactly, what is love?"

* * *

"Holy shiitake mushrooms!" Angela said.

"Ain't that the truth." Cam sat up straighter now, totally invested in staying awake to see this.

"Finally!" Sweets chanted as he took a handful of popcorn that was on the table. "That's the kind of question I've been waiting for."

"Why? It's not like he'll admit anything." Angela needed to believe that to become a hundred bucks richer.

"Well, the way Booth answers Dr. Brennan's question could reveal something about Booth's personal view on the subject. It might not give away enough to reveal anything about your bet." Sweets clarified his thoughts.

The artist and the pathologist gave each other sneer glance, then went back to the show.

* * *

Booth was in an utter state of shock at the question posed to him by his partner. Part of him didn't want to answer the question for fear of revealing too much. The other part wanted to help her understand the more confusing ways of the heart she rarely used.

"I think there's only one way that'll make sense." Booth got up and went back over to the mp3 players, picked his up and plugged it into the speakers. The first few notes of the song started.

_The whispers in the morning_

_Of lovers sleeping tight_

_Are rolling like thunder now_

_As I look in your eyes_

"Booth, how is this an answer to you're question?" Brennan started to ask.

"Sh…don't think, just listen." he replied as he stared her right in the eye.

_Cause I'm you're lady_

_And you are my man_

_Whenever you reach for me_

_I'm gonna do all that I can_

Brennan looked up and saw that Booth had nodded off in on her arm chairs. She didn't try to wake him, but rather draped the blanket on the back of the couch over him. Catching a few of the lyrics as she did so, they made some sense.

_Lost is how I'm feeling in your arms_

_When the world outside's too much to take_

_That all ends when I'm with you_

_* * *_

"See that?" Sweets asked the women behind him and pointing at the screen.

"What? What are we looking at?" Cam's eyes followed his finger.

"Booth responded to Brennan's response with possibly the greatest love song ever written so he doesn't divulge anything about his own feelings while at the same time giving her some way of understanding him. It's an extremely smart way to separate the personal from the objective." Sweets gave his long-winded speech that he wasn't sure if they were listening to.

"Well, it looks like we have some rest time." Angela reclined with her fingers tucked behind her head.

Cam sighed. This was better than the daytime soap operas she recorded then watched late at night. _'Like sands through an hourglass' _she thought as she leaned back and relaxed a little.

**_I chose this song just cause I think it's beautiful and I think Brennan really could've learned something from it. Can't beat the classics, right? Please review. The more I get, the fatter my inbox is, the happier I'll be to write the next one. _**


	8. Them Bones

_**Well, it's the second day of my schoolyear and I already have a paper to REwrite and pictures for art class to draw. (I'm not good at art whatsoever, but up here it's required to take a Visual Arts class. Sucky.) Anyways, I got bored proofreading my first paper for AP English, so I decided to come on here and grace you all with my presence once more. **_

**_In response to a review I had, chapter six's song was "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion. Sorry I didn't make that more clear._**

**_And I'm sorry to anyone who really doesn't like metal music, but this is one of my favorite songs from the genre and it fit. _**

_**Chapter Seven:**_

_**12:15 a.m.**_

Booth's eyes adjusted easily to the dim lighting as he opened them. He recognized the salmon colored walls of his partner's office. He tried to roll over, only finding it impossible being as he was upright in a chair.

"You getting up?" a female voice that he was too familiar with scared him out of his skin, thinking he was alone. He looked over to see Brennan peeking over the edge of a thick book with a smirk on her face at his reaction to her presence.

"How long have I been out?" He asked, rubbing his head thoughtfully. The last thing he remembered was putting on one of his old favorite songs for her to listen to.

"About an hour. I thought I'd be kind and let you sleep." her eyes returned to their previous position of skimming over the words in the book. Brennan wouldn't admit that she actually _hadn't _been reading the manual of forensic anthropology that sat in her lap, but watching her partner sleep discreetly. She'd heard him mumble 'Bones' once and wondered if he'd been dreaming about her.

"What have you been doing?" he asked while working out the neck cramp that made it's way into a tight knot.

"Nothing much, what's wrong with your neck?" she asked as his face contorted into a mask of pain.

"Cramped up, I'll be fine in a minute." he said, rolling his head around.

* * *

"Guys. Guys! Wake up! We're back in business." Sweets shook the squints awake, who'd all fallen asleep stretched out across each other on the large couch.

Cam sat straight up to the sound of the young psychologist's voice. Angela pushed herself up and rubbed her eyes clean of gunk that might've accumulated. Hodgins grumbled and rolled over, not caring as much as the other three.

"Wha…what did we miss?" Cam groggily asked coming around to consciousness.

"Brennan watching Booth sleep." Sweets responded matter-of-factly.

"Seriously?" Angela asked with excitement lining her voice. All she needed was Brennan to cave first.

"Pretty much. She's been trying to hide behind that book in front of her face, but she hasn't turned a page in fifteen minutes. Kinda suggests she's not completely into it." he clarified his observations.

"Doesn't look good for you, Cam." Angela chuckled manically.

"Ah, but the night is still young, my artistic friend." she replied.

"Ok, could you two, like, shut up and watch now?" Sweets said as he tried to turn their attention back to the screen.

"Sorry." they said in unison.

* * *

"So…what do we do now?" Brennan thought aloud. Most of her alcohol had worn off by now so she didn't feel as free-spirited as she did earlier.

"How about some Advil?" Booth asked quietly, not wanting her to see how badly he handled _real_ liquor.

She laughed nonetheless as she walked over to her desk and pulled out a small bottle of ibuprofen. She chuckled as she handed him the bottle, not winning one of his most endearing looks. "You can stop at any time, you know." he said.

"Doesn't mean I don't want to." Brennan said as she sat back on the couch. "I was listening to your mp3s while you were sleeping. Found one I really like." she smiled.

"Just one? I think my music's a little better than just one good song." Booth popped a couple of the pills.

"You do have quite a bit of music that's good, Booth. There's one, however, that stood out at me." she clarified her thoughts.

"Yeah, which one?" he asked.

Brennan held up her finger to tell him to wait a minute. She plugged his mp3 back into the speakers and hit play. Booth chuckled as he heard the opening notes into the song that she was essentially named after.

_I believe them bones are me_

_Some say we're born into the grave_

_I feel so alone _

_Gonna end up a big ole pile of them bones_

"It sounds like you…more or less." Booth commented as he moved to sit over next to her.

"I guess an objective partner like yourself would know more about what I'm like than myself. It's hard to look at myself and make distinctions like that." Brennan tucked her legs up underneath her as she spoke.

"Oh, I can tell a lot about you. Anyone can after talking to you for ten minutes." he scoffed.

"Oh yeah? What am I like, Agent Booth?" she challenged.

"Well…, you're honest and intelligent, driven and trustworthy, independent and…very attractive." Booth finished with a blush.

* * *

"Oh…, my… God." Angela spaced out like a preppy schoolgirl.

"Now do you see what I mean?! The emotional attachment between these two is so deep and strong that they're just three words away from a slip up each damn sentence!" Sweets explained definitively and rather loudly.

"Alright, Sweets, you didn't have to scream." Cam told him, then looked over at Angela, "Looks like the tide is turning." she smirked.

"Oh, get off your high horse. You said it yourself, time will tell." Angela retorted.

"I know, I know, just couldn't resist that." she held her hands up in innocence.

* * *

Brennan sat semi-nervously contemplating Booth's nice words about her. She wanted to say thanks, but couldn't help but wonder if that was his objective evaluation of her or the friend she had in him? Or was it something else completely?

Booth sat there, watching as she turned her head and smiled at him, silently thanking him for the kind words. _'If only you knew the extent of all of those and more, Bones.'_

_Them Bones._

**_This song is called "Them Bones" by Alice in Chains. I've also gotten suggestions from my friends on here to do "She Wolf" by Shakira. Don't know if that's gonna happen or not. We're almost to 200 reviews, though, and you have no idea how happy a camper I'd be with a 2 and a couple more digits behind it!!!_**


	9. Smooth

_**So I got the request to do something similar to what Booth did for Brennan by giving her all those compliments. My friends have also been bugging me for an update really badly. Anyway, here we go.**_

_**Chapter Eight:**_

_**12:25 a.m.**_

"What'cha thinking about Bones?" Booth asked after sitting in silence for a long time.

"Hmm?" Brennan's head snapped up when she realized he'd said something. She'd still been lost in thought about what he'd said earlier. "What did you say?"

"I said, what are you thinking about?" he reiterated.

"Aren't I, in your opinion, always thinking of something that you have no interest in or don't want to know." Brennan replied.

"Yes."

"Then don't ask, because I don't want to hear you moan and groan about my thoughts." she said blatantly.

"Fine." Booth grumbled and walked over to her desk. She knew he was probably going to dig around her work area to find something to entertain himself with, but she couldn't bring herself to care at that moment. Brennan was still contemplating the universe.

"Hey, Bones." he found something that wasn't necessarily out of character for her, but still awe-worthy.

"What?" she looked over.

Booth held up a familiar bluesy album that Brennan frequented and, therefore, kept close at hand. "What's this?"

"I like it. It's different than most music around." she said truthfully.

"I didn't say it wasn't good, just didn't think you went for that kind of music." Booth smiled and put the disk in the CD player. The first few notes to a timeless song entered both sets of ears.

_Man, it's a hot one_

_Like seven inches from the midday sun_

_I hear you whisperin' the words, to melt everyone_

_But you stay so cool_

Brennan mouthed the words while Booth took a more entertaining approach and returned to the ridiculous dancing like he'd done before. Before she knew it, she was being dragged off the couch by a certain man's hands. She was even more shocked when they did the duet.

_And it's just like the ocean under the moon_

_Oh, it's the same as the emotion I get from you_

_You got the kinda lovin' that could be so smooth, yeah_

_Give me your heart, make it real_

_Or else forget about it_

* * *

"Now THERE'S a real song." Cam announced with happiness.

"I didn't know you listened to Santana." Angela asked her boss, who at the moment was bouncing up and down to the beat of the song.

"Nobody could avoid that song. It's catchy." she replied.

"That's a very different song for someone like Dr. Brennan to listen to." Sweets observed out-loud.

"Yeah, it has to do with surrender and love and total annihilation of all things rational. I get it." Cam said as she continued to bounce to the beat.

Sweets looked up, surprised that someone else in the squint squad had a psychological eye. "That's right."

Hodgins rolled over, apparently catching the song and the conversation. "Why are you guys listening to Mexican music?" he asked.

"Not Mexican, Hodgie, Hispanic." Angela corrected him.

"Fine, Hispanic music." he mumbled into the thin blanket that they'd covered him with.

"'Cause they're listening to it." Cam replied.

"You're still watching them?" he blinked his eyes to see that Brennan and Booth were still the stars of the late late line-up on the T.V. in _Casa de Hodgins_.

"Yes. We have to see who wins the bet. Sweets thinks that Brennan will break down first." Angela said happily.

"I didn't say that, I said that it _looks like_ she might be coming to terms with the fact that she feels more for Agent Booth than she lets on." Sweets clarified his earlier thoughts.

"Tomato, to-mah-to." Angela said simply, but didn't say anymore on the subject.

* * *

"Hey Bones?" the song had ended and Booth had a thought that was bugging him. "What do you think of me?"

"What do you mean, Booth?" Brennan asked.

"Like the 'objective evaluation' that I gave you." he added the air quotes in his mind, not wanting her to think he lied.

Brennan sat quietly for a minute, thinking over what he'd asked of her. She had a small smile on her face as she started to speak.

"Booth, you are kind-hearted, courageous, smart…"

"Except for when I walk in here." he added to the end of the last one.

"No, you're smart everywhere. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't know who Mulder and Scully were. You're also strong-willed and very brave." she finished her original sentence.

Booth smiled at Brennan the award-winning smile that made Brennan feel like she was staring down the hallway at Andy Fluger again. It was embarrassing to herself that she would feel like that again even after fifteen years and control of her hormones later.

"Thanks Bones. It means a lot." he patted her knee.

"No problem." she replied.

* * *

"Looks like the shoe's on the other foot now, Angela." Cam said smugly.

"What do you mean?" Angela asked with a slight whine in her voice.

"That pause that Booth took before he answered her…he was ogling." she cackled.

"He was not! He didn't know what to say, right Sweets?" the artist had a look of fear on her face now.

"Well, I wish I could tell you that you were right, but Dr. Saroyan's right. He was totally checking her out." he replied.

Angela sighed. She was going to be disgusted if she lost her own bet. Not to say she wasn't happy for Brennan, she was, but she needed best friend to 'fess up first.

**_For those of you wondering, the song is "Smooth" by Carlos Santana. I'd really love a review for this, but you already knew that._**


	10. She Wolf

_**This was a rather short update, I admit, but it has great pertinance to the story. (I have no idea if I spelled pertainance right, well I spelled it different there, so one of 'em's right.) **_

**_I know a lot of you are asking me for 'When You Say Nothing At All" and don't think I don't listen to you. There's a special place this song needs to go and it will be a part of the story, I promise. I love that song too. A little patience and you'll hear it later on. _**

_**Chapter Nine:**_

_**12:30 a.m.**_

"I never would've pegged you for a Santana fan, Bones. I misjudged you and I apologize." Booth said rather politely as Brennan sat behind her desk.

"I love it. He's one of those great musicians that aren't rewriting the same scores over and over again." she said as she snuggled into the thick wool sweater she was wearing.

Booth nodded his head as he watched her cutely wrap the warm clothing tighter around her lean frame. Even sleep deprivation evident and still a little drunk, she was the most beautiful thing Booth had ever seen in his life.

He was shaken from his thoughts when he noticed she was sitting there giggling like a child. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, I just thought of something." Brennan replied between giggling fits.

"What is it?" he tried again.

Brennan looked at him warily, then turned off the stereo and switched back over to the mp3's. "This is why I'm laughing." she said as she found the song that was apparently stuck in her mind.

Booth unfortunately recognized it as being one of the top ten hits right now. "Bones, my thoughts of you have just sank a little."

"It's a fun song that only females relate to. I think Angela called it 'girly'." she said as she moved to the beat she'd made.

"That's generally the definition." Booth muttered while rubbing his eyes, a headache foreseen to arise. Brennan laughed again like a lunatic and began singing.

_A domesticated girl, that's all you asked of me_

_Darling, this is no joke, this is lycanthropy_

_The moon's awake now with eyes wide open_

_My body's craving so feed the hungry_

"I've been devoting myself to you Monday to Monday and Friday to Friday." Brennan watched Booth's reaction to her favorite workout song and practically fell over in hysterics. She didn't go through the rest until after the second chorus and she was quietly singing the disguise part.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Cam, but that's _my_ impression of a song. Something that gets you moving is a _real_ song." Angela ranted all the way to the kitchen where no one could hear her anymore.

"That's actually a really aggressive song. With the wolf and the panting, it paints a pretty clear picture of-" Sweets began to say.

"Yes, thank you, I got that." Cam cut him off before he could say something that he would later regret saying.

"Please tell me that there was some decent music while I was asleep." Hodgins massaged his temples. He despised the song that the damn 'She Wolf' song that was written by the blond Latina and was forced to listen to it multiple times while in Angela's presence.

"Yeah, we've had some pretty good stuff come through the speakers." Sweets said.

"Hodgy, where's the other bottle of gin?" Angela called from the kitchen.

His eyes shot opened and chased after his girlfriend.

"Sweets, could you recommend Hodgins to some good alcohol counselors?" Cam asked innocently.

"Don't worry, I've got friends for interventions." he reassured.

"Good."

* * *

When the three-minute scare of Booth's life was over, he looked at Brennan with relief lining his eyes. "Temperance, whatever you do, please don't make me listen to that again. It's ear-rape." he basically begged.

Brennan laughed and smiled at her irked partner. "Ear-rape?"

"Yes, you willingly forced that song into my ear and to be processed in my brain for all eternity. You ear-raped me." he groveled for his ear.

She fell down on the couch laughing at his theory of how sound travels throughout the brain and the term he used for it. When she finally sobered, her eyes fluttered closed and her breathing evened out in the silence.

"Bones?" Booth asked and looked her straight in the face. She was out like a light. He took the blanket he found himself covered with earlier and draped it lightly over her.

Booth sat down next to her and watched her for several minutes, the only sound the fluttering of her breathing. He pushed the auburn hair back and out of her face as it fell to it. Booth tried, but there wasn't a way for him to control his heart as it pounded viciously inside his chest, his palms begin to sweat, or his blood that was flowing dangerously southward.

"I love you, Temperance." he whispered.

* * *

"What did he say?" Sweets asked.

"I couldn't hear it." Cam responded. "Can't you back-track that?" she looked to Angela.

"No, it's not being recorded, I can't do that from here without it being documented in the security station." Angela said disappointedly.

"Do you think it was something big?" Hodgins chimed in.

"If he whispered it when he thought there was no one around to hear it…mega huge." Sweets shifted in his seat.

_Argh…where's a microphone when you need one?_ the three squints had the same thought simultaneously.

**_See what I mean about the importance?! Promise me you'll all review and you'll be very very happy with the next few chapters._**


	11. Can't Fight This Feeling

_**This is a very emotional chapter, even for me. I promise you the will be an update as soon as possible for those of you who WILL be mad at me.**_

**_P.S. Song is "Can't Fight This Feeling" by REO Speedwagon._**

_**Chapter Ten:**_

_The lights of Washington DC often went unappreciated in the last few hours of twilight before nightfall. It was Brennan's favorite time to sit on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and let her thoughts drift wherever they wanted to go. She took a sip of the smoothie that'd been ignored for awhile, thinking of only one man and wishing he was here with her._

"_It's beautiful, isn't it?" a familiar voice asked as a head rested on her shoulder._

_Brennan didn't react, she didn't have to, she already knew who it was. "This place and time has always been relaxing for me."_

"_I'll take that as a yes, then." an arm wrapped around her shoulders and a nose nuzzled itself into her hair, enjoying the clean smell of coconut it found there. The warm feeling of that arm around her sent shivers down her spine. _

"_I love you, Booth."_

_* * *_

_**1:30 a.m.**_

Brennan jolted upright on the couch, giving herself a head-rush as the blanket twisted around her face, blocking her vision of the rest of the world. She tried to wipe the sleep from her eyes; her bare hand coming into contact with the soft cloth. _Just a dream,_ she realized.

"Having pleasant dreams, Bones?" she heard Booth ask. She turned her head and plucked the blanket off her face.

"What the hell are you doing?" Booth was in the chair upside down. His knees held him up over the chair and his head dangled off the seat.

"Watching you. You talk in your sleep." he said it so she knew he was amused.

"No, I don't." she groaned.

"Yes, you do." he countered.

"What did I say?" Brennan remembered her dream and hoped that she didn't reveal anything that could potentially put their partnership in immediate danger. After all, it was just a dream, right?

"The first part was 'get back here' and you mumbled the rest. It sounded like 'get back here with Marfo's mummy' but I don't think that's right." he sat up like a normal person instead of a primate now.

"No idea what that pertains to." she shook her head, thanking whoever was in charge of her subconscious that she hadn't slipped up.

"What were you dreaming about?" Booth asked with intense curiosity.

_Damn, so close, _she thought. "What makes you think I was dreaming?"

"Well, there was Marfo's mummy, but your eyes were practically fluttering open. Means that someone's dreaming." Booth smiled at his knowledge of something scientific.

Brennan quickly wracked her brain for a sufficient answer, "I don't even know."

Booth knew she was lying. She remembered everything that ever happened to her. He let it drop though. He didn't feel like prodding her.

* * *

"She's lying." Sweets felt it prudent to point out.

"I know, it's written all over her face." Angela agreed.

"Yeah, but why doesn't Booth say anything? He's like a human polygraph." Cam asked rhetorically.

"Booth told me once that you couldn't rush Dr. Brennan into something. She needs time to process things." Sweets stated quietly, apparently sucked into the scene unfolding.

"That's true." Angela nodded.

"Did anybody even figure out what happened earlier?" Hodgins asked.

"No, we should've recorded it." Cam sent a dirty look Angela's way.

"I'm sorry if I won't take the chance of getting caught by Security for infiltrating the network. You couldn't protect me either, so don't throw that in my face." Angela held up her finger so her boss wouldn't point out the obvious.

"Fine." Cam mumbled.

* * *

"Dance with me?" Booth asked out of the blue.

"What?" she gave him an exhausted smile.

"Please?" he held his hand out to her, asking silently for a partner.

Brennan rolled her eyes and accepted his invitation just as quietly. Booth had butterflies rising in his stomach. He could only hope that his quickly conceived plan would work and not scare her off. He took a small remote from his back pocket and pointed it at the stereo.

"You already had it set up?" she asked.

"Well, call me a boy scout." he replied.

"I don't know what that means."

"Always be prepared, Bones." he whispered as a too familiar song entered Brennan's ears. It was the same song that taunted her every time she turned on the radio.

_I can't fight this feeling any longer_

_And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow_

_What started out as friendship has grown stronger_

_I only wish I had the strength to let it show_

"Booth?" the deep meaning of the song unsettled her nerves as she tried to meet Booth's eyes.

"Yeah, it's what you think I mean." his eyes told her. The warm brown intruded into her soul and refused to come out.

* * *

"Hee hee, pay up Angela!" Cam laughed at her subordinate's misfortune.

"Hey, she still gets a chance remember. She can confess by 2:30 still. Don't go counting out your new lab tools just yet." Angela snorted.

Sweets wanted to say something, but thought against it between the two competitive females.

* * *

_And even as I wander_

_I'm keeping you in sight_

_You're a candle in the window_

_On a cold, dark winter's night_

_And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might_

"I'm sorry." Brennan whispered and practically ran out of her office at top speed, leaving a crushed Booth in her wake.

**_None of you can kill me, 'cause then you'll never know how the rest plays out. Please review, keep bad thoughts at a minimal, and I promise a new chapter by tomorrow night at the latest._**


	12. Broken Strings

_**I know, it's weird, I'm updating a lot in the same day. The creative juices are flowing people, I gotta use 'em while I got 'em. **_

**_Song is "Broken Strings" by James Morrison_**

_**Chapter Eleven**_

_**1:40 a.m.**_

"Angela, where's she going?" Sweets asked as the artist tapped at the laptop keys, trying to keep up with her best friend's path.

"Looks like the bathroom." Angela said as Brennan disappeared into the ladies restroom. "This is as far as we can go to follow her."

"Why? Can't you get into the bathroom?" Sweets was obviously anxious to see how badly Brennan was handling the situation.

"Uh…no. A, we're not perverts, and B, the bathrooms aren't covered because we're not perverts." Angela explained it out slowly to the frenzied psychologist.

"Could you do like a split screen? You know, that camera on one side and Brennan's office camera on the other?" Hodgins suggested just so people would stop fighting. He really wanted to go upstairs to his king-sized bed, flop down on it like a beached whale, and pass out.

"Yeah, that's easy." she typed a few more keys at the speed of sound and the black bar separated the two different cameras. The bathroom door was on the left side, Brennan's office on the other with a distressed-looking Booth.

"Poor Booth." Cam's first vocalized thought since Brennan ran.

"Hey, there's still time. Let's not get worried until all is said and done." Angela reminded quietly..

"Right." Sweets and Cam said in unison.

* * *

"What the hell's wrong with me?" Brennan muttered as she splashed cold water onto her face to cool her burning cheeks. She turned the faucet off and stared at herself in the mirror for a hard minute, wondering when and where she'd lost her sense to connect with people. It must've been just after everyone in her life abandoned her.

Her mind was running in circles so fast she was barely registering what she was thinking. _Booth just basically told you he loves you, idiot! That's what you're thinking about._ Brennan ran her fingers through her hair as the droplets of water fell down her face in rivulets.

"_Why is this so hard for you to accept, Temperance. You love him, and he loves you! Where's the running involved?!" _even thought Brennan knew it was impossible, her heart was shouting at her to march back into her office.

"_You did the right thing, work relationships are messy and it wouldn't be able to last." _part of her brain thought: the cool rational side.

"_This is Booth, you moron. Do you really think that he'd risk anything like this if he didn't think it was worth it all in the end?"_ the heart told her.

"_People aren't predictable. Maybe it was all just a little slip_." the brain countered.

"_There's not a snowball's chance in hell that was a slip of the tongue. That was thought out and planned out not to scare."_

"_Look at how well that turned out."_

"Shut up!" Brennan said aloud, then realized she was speaking to no one. She sunk to the floor, holding her head in her hands as she came as quickly to a decision as she stormed out of her office. Standing up, she brushed off her clothes and checked herself over in the mirror. Not letting herself think anymore about it.

* * *

Booth slouched in the chair and buried his face in his hands. He had a strong feeling in the bottom of his gut that something like this was bound to happen, but it was still a shock to watch her retreating back go down the hallway. The mp3 player drifted into the next song, which had Booth thinking it was a sign.

_Let me hold you_

_For the last time_

_It's the last chance to feel again_

_But you broke me_

_Now I can't feel anything_

He gripped the edge of the chair so hard it should've broken off. Booth couldn't believe that he'd had the balls to go and screw up the best thing that'd ever happened to him. All he could do his wait for her to return and try to take back everything that he'd already said.

_When I love you_

_It's so untrue_

_I can't even convince myself_

_When I'm speaking_

_It's the voice of someone else._

"Booth?" he looked up to see Brennan standing in the doorway. Maybe there was still a glimmer of hope left in the this crapshoot of a situation.

"Bones, I-" she pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him.

"I'm going to ask that you wait until I'm done to say anything. You need to hear me out." she stated simply, her eyes even with his.

He nodded in understanding. At this point, he would've done anything for her.

"Alright then." Brennan breathed deeply and prepared herself for the speech of her life.

**_No more moaning and groaning, please. Cliffies are probably all I know how to write and it keeps you guys interested. Don't bother lying to me 'cause you know it's true. Next update'll probably be sooner than you think at this rate._**


	13. When You Say Nothing At All

**_K, here we are again on the same day, and I'm posting the epilogue along with this, so no one has to kill me for any reason._**

**Chapter Twelve:**

**1:45 a.m.**

"Oh, my poor Bren. She looks beat." Angela cooed as she resized the screen and looked at her friend's run-down form.

"That's typical from someone facing an emotional distress as big as the one that Agent Booth…" Sweets was saying before Cam told each of them to shut it.

* * *

"You know how hard this is for me, more than anyone else." Brennan started, gazing down at the floor.

Booth nodded in silent agreement. He always knew of Brennan's commitment issues and unwillingness to let her emotions play interference in her life.

"Well…you've really been the only person to stand by me for as long as you have, besides Angela of course. And…I guess…I really don't know how to say this." she rolled her eyes in frustration.

"You don't have to." Booth patted the back of her hand, stood, and made the final trek of the night to the mp3 players. He chose the one song that could be used to say anything that was on her mind.

_It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart_

_Without saying a word, you can light up the dark_

_Try as I may, I could never expect _

_What I hear when you don't say a thing_

"Bones, I know this is difficult. It's never an easy thing to say. But I love you, and I'll go to whatever end of the Earth you want me to go to and prove it to you." Booth said more confidently than Brennan had started.

She stood and walked up to him. "I don't want you to go to the ends of the Earth…I want you right here." she enveloped him in her arms.

"Good, this is my first choice for a destination." Booth smiled into her hair. She laughed and melted into his warm brown eyes like she had doubt it." his forehead rested against hers.

"I love you too, Booth. I didn't think I could, but I do. More than I want my next breath…It scares me." Her tears were finally apparent as they streaked down her cheeks.

"Hey, no tears. Not now." he hugged her as they swayed to the song that had been sung and resung for generations.

_The smile on your face lets me know that you need me_

_There's a truth in your eyes sayin' you'll never leave me_

_The touch of your hand says you'll catch me if ever I fall_

_You say it best, when you say nothing at all_

_* * *_

There wasn't a dry eye in the audience as they dabbed at their noses and wiped at their eyes.

"Cam…" Angela started harshly.

"Don't worry about it, it was off a long time ago." Cam responded, telling her not to worry about the bet. "Besides, this was rewarding enough."

"So, where does this go from here?" Hodgins blew his nose quite loudly.

"Wherever they take it together." Cam looked at Sweets, who nodded in agreement.

**_I'm not done yet, as you already know, I have one last trick up my sleave. You can place you're final thoughts after the epilogue._**


	14. Epilogue: After All

_**Epilogue:**_

_**18 Months Later…**_

"I would just like to say…" Hodgins slurred slightly into the microphone, looking out off the stage into about a hundred guests. "how lucky…the bride and groom are to have found each other. It actually didn't take a lotta lookin', but once they opened up to the possibility of each other…" the crowd laughed a little. "They found probably the truest love I've ever seen."

Booth linked fingers with his new bride, grinning like a maniac. She dropped all of her beliefs about marriage to do this for him, and he didn't think there was any way on Earth to repay her.

"So I would like us all, to raise our glasses," Hodgins held up his own unsteadily as the rest of the guests did. "To Booth and Brennan, who shoulda been together a long time ago, I love you guys."

Everyone cheered and clinked their glasses together. The Hodgins estate backyard had been turned into 'Wedding Reception 101'. The wedding itself wasn't big; a nondenominational service outside in the Jeffersonian's gardens with said hundred guests that were with them now. The dress hadn't been outrageous either. Brennan opted for a simply satin gown without the frills and weight of a more traditional one.

However, the money that didn't go into the wedding went into the rings themselves. Booth bought just about the biggest diamond he could afford in five years. Brennan told him it wasn't necessary, but he wanted to 'make a statement' is how he put it. He wanted the entire world to know she was his, and no one else's.

Angela was now chasing Hodgins off-stage and coming up to the microphone herself. "Well, we have a little surprise for the happy couple right about now. It's time for their first dance as husband and wife." she announced.

"Uh-oh." Brennan whispered.

"Should we be afraid?" Booth remembered that when he couldn't decide on a song, he'd asked Angela to pick and never asked her what it was.

"No, you shouldn't be afraid!" she crowed as their guests were getting a nice laugh out of the conversation.

Booth looked around the bridal party that were sitting at the table. Cam (bridesmaid), Hodgins (best man), and Angela who was now on stage (matron of honor, she and Jack _finally_ got married six months ago) all had suspicious looks on their faces. He ignored it and stood, holding his hand out to his wife. "Care to join me?"

"I'd be honored." Brennan replied and followed him to the dance floor. They took up the proper position just as the music started.

_Well here we are again  
I guess it must be fate  
We tried it on our own  
But deep inside we know  
We'd be back to set things straight_

"You have no idea how beautiful you look tonight." Booth said gently. It was a lover's whisper that was only meant for her ears.

"You don't look so bad yourself." Brennan commented as he spun her around.

_I still remember when  
Your kiss was so brand new  
And every memory repeats  
Every step I take retreats  
Every journey always brings me back to you_

"They picked a really good song." Booth thought aloud as he pulled her closer to him.

"You sound shocked." she smiled.

"Not shocked, just surprised." he clarified.

"They know us pretty well." Brennan rested her head against his chest.

_When love is truely right  
(This time it's truely right)  
It lives from year to year  
And it changes as it goes  
Oh, and on the way it grows  
But it never disappears_

"Hey, have you ever thought..." he trailed off in his own thoughts.

"Have I ever thought what?" she met his eyes.

"Have you ever thought that maybe they know about what happened the night we got together?" Booth asked, sounding about as paranoid as Hodgins on a bad day.

Brennan laughed, "Of course they know about it, I told Angela the next day who told virtually everyone."

"I just can't shake this feeling that they know more about it than we do. Like they were watching us." he shook his head.

"It doesn't even matter if they did, all that matters is that you and I are here now, not because of anything that they did." she wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers gently massaging away the tension she felt built up there.

"You're right." Booth said as they started to sway more again.

_After all the stops and starts  
We keep comin' back to these two hearts  
Two angels who've been rescued from the fall  
And after all that we've been through  
It all comes down to me and you  
I guess it's meant to be  
Forever you and me  
After all..._

**_Hee hee hee...so we come to the end of another one of my briliant masterpieces. I hope you all leave me feedback, but I thought this was a great way to finish it off. Lurve you all and see you next story!!!_**


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